Killer Whales 探索大學堂 (Full Show) - Chimelong Spaceship - Decmeber 16, 2023

This killer whale show is the only animal show offered at Chimelong Spaceship, an indoor marine park in China that opened in September 2023. While these orcas are quite new to performing, I felt they collectively knew so many behaviors for a facility that just opened! This was also the only time I saw the volunteer segment, which features a guest posing for photos with the orcas. See below for highlights: 0:53 - Intro with Nakhod, Bandhu, Kaixin, Chad, and Yilong, starting with Nakhod’s bows - 1:24 Yilong’s ball jump! Seeing calves do this is so cute! - 2:33 Chad’s stage slide (these happen close up here!) 4:05 Yilong’s birth video 5:45 Ballet with Nakhod, everyone else is at stage - 6:03 Nakhod left pec wave and right pec slap, showing curled pectoral flippers sometimes seen in adult males from this transient population - 8:24 Nakhod nodding yes for a salmon - 8:49 Nakhod slides out on his side! 9:45 Informational animation about orcas’ anatomy, life history, and social structure (closed captions coming soon!) 12:20 Pelican flights! I’ve never seen any zoological facility do this! 15:55 - Volunteer segment, starting with asking her Yilong’s birth date (she had no idea, the audience helped her 🤣) - 16:55 Bandhu posing for photos with the volunteer, including tongue out and mouth open poses! 18:43 Finale with Bandhu, Kaixin, Yilong, Chad, and Nakhod, starting with Bandhu’s fast swim 19:12 - Kaixin and Yilong bows! I love their size comparison! 20:25 - Nakhod’s side breaches! He is breathtaking! 21:58 - Everyone slides out (thumbnail)! This was LRSed then reinforced but I couldn’t figure out why, any thoughts? Nakhod, Bandhu, Kaixin, Chad, and Yilong (Killer Whales) at Chimelong Spaceship on December 16, 2023. Do not use without permission.